In an era when timing and spacing are the preferred words and horses only run a handful of times a year, it generally takes some extraordinary circumstances to set up a dazzling showdown. Clearly $20 million falls into the category of an extraordinary circumstance.
Tag: Racing
Champion, Breeders’ Cup Winner Vequist Tops Nominees To Feb. 27 Davona Dale
Gary Barber, Wachtel Stable and Swilcan Stable's Vequist, the champion 2-year-old filly of 2020, stands out among 30 nominees as she is poised to launch her sophomore season in the $200,000 Davona Dale (G2) Saturday, Feb. 27 at Gulfstream Park.
The one-mile Davona Dale for 3-year-old fillies is among eight stakes, seven graded, on a spectacular program supporting the $300,000 Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth (G2) for 3-year-olds, and serves as the next step for sophomore females on the road to the $200,000 Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2) March 27.
Last year's Gulfstream Park Oaks was won by Swiss Skydiver, who would go on to defeat males in the 145th Preakness Stakes (G1) and win the Alabama (G1) en route to the Eclipse Award as champion 3-year-old filly.
Trained by Robert E. 'Butch' Reid Jr., Vequist broke her maiden in her second start – a 9 ½-length romp in the seven-furlong Spinaway (G1) last summer at Saratoga. From there, the daughter of 2016 Florida Derby (G1) and Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Nyquist ran second in the one-mile Frizette (G1) and captured the 1 1/16-mile Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) Nov. 6 at Keeneland by two lengths.
Vequist has spent the winter in South Florida, posting four works at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream's satellite training facility in Palm Beach County. Her most recent came Feb. 13, when she went five furlongs in 59.65 seconds, second-fastest of 30 horses.
Trained and co-owned by Timothy Hamm, Dayoutoftheoffice is also nominated to the Davona Dale. She broke her maiden sprinting 4 ½ furlongs last May at Gulfstream, then won the Schuylerville (G3) at Saratoga and beat Vequist in the Frizette before suffering her first loss when second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.
Others prominent among Davona Dale nominees are Ken McPeek-trained stablemates Simply Ravishing and Crazy Beautiful, 1-2 finishers in the Alcibiades (G1) last fall at Keeneland; trainer Todd Pletcher's undefeated duo of Zaajel, winner of the Jan. 30 Forward Gal (G3) at Gulfstream, and Malathaat, yet to race at 3 after capturing the Tempted and Demoiselle (G2) at Aqueduct; and stakes winners Adios Trippi, Competitive Speed, Curlin's Catch, Dreaming of Drew, Gulf Coast, No Mo' Spending, Oliviaofthedesert and Quinoa Tifah.
Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey, pointing Holy Bull (G3) winner Greatest Honour to the Fountain of Youth, also has Performer among 18 nominees to the $200,000 WinStar Gulfstream Park Mile (G2) for 4-year-olds and up on the main track. Grade 1-placed Performer's two Grade 3 wins include the Fred Hooper Jan. 23 at Gulfstream.
Claimer-turned Grade 1-winner Math Wizard is also nominated, along with multiple graded-stakes winner Tax, cross-nominated in the Mac Diarmida but yet to run on turf; Eye of a Jedi, second in the Hooper and Harlan's Holiday (G3) this winter; Sunshine Classic winner Last Judgment; Mr Freeze, winner of the Fayette (G2) and second in the Pegasus World Cup last year; 2020 Hooper winner Phat Man and War Stopper.
Twenty-nine older horses were nominated to the $200,000 Mac Diarmida (G2) going 1 3/8 miles on the turf, 11 of them by Mike Maker, who captured the past two editions of the race with Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1) winner Zulu Alpha. Among his contingent are Grade 1 winner Aquaphobia; Bemma's Boy, winner of last year's Pan American (G2) at Gulfstream; Cross Border, most recently third in the Pegasus Turf Jan. 23; and Tide of the Sea and Temple, 1-2 in Gulfstream's W.L. McKnight (G3) Jan. 23.
Pletcher nominated Pegasus Turf winner Colonel Liam and War Stopper, a two-time winner on dirt during the Championship Meet. Multi-millionaire Sadler's Joy won the Mac Diarmida in 2018 and most recently ran fourth in the McKnight to open his 8-year-old season. Graded-stakes winners Admiralty Pier, Admission Office, Eons and Spooky Channel are also on the list of nominees.
Colonel Liam is also one of 23 horses nominated to the $125,000 Canadian Turf (G3) for 4-year-olds and up going 1 1/16 miles, along with Largent, the Dec. 12 Fort Lauderdale (G2) winner, and 2020 Appleton (G3) winner Social Paranoia, who respectively ran second and fourth behind their stablemate in the Pegasus Turf.
Fillies and mares 4 and up will contest the $125,000 The Honey Fox (G3) going one mile and the $125,000 The Very One (G3), contested at 1 3/16 miles. Got Stormy, a multiple Grade 1 winner of more than $2 million, and Marshua's River (G3) winner Zofelle top 27 Honey Fox nominees, while the 22 The Very One noms include Always Shopping, who became a graded winner on turf and dirt with her victory in the Jan. 23 La Prevoyante (G3) going 1 ½ miles.
Aside from the Fountain of Youth, sophomores will share the spotlight in the $100,000 Herecomesthebride (G3) for fillies and the $100,000 Palm Beach, both at 1 1/16 miles on turf. Gulfstream stakes winners Con Lima, Quinoa Tifah and Spanish Loveaffair are among 20 Herecomesthebride nominees, while the Palm Beach attracted 22 nominations led by Kitten's Joy (G3) winner Chess's Dream.
Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) winner Fire At Will and Tarantino, second in the Holy Bull (G3) in his dirt debut, are also nominated to the Palm Beach but are being pointed to the Fountain of Youth.
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Saudi Cup Post Positions: Charlatan Drawn ‘Just Perfect’ Near Outside, Knicks Go ‘Right In The Middle’
The post positions have been drawn for Saturday's second running of the $20 million Saudi Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. To be contested over a one-turn 1 1/8 mile course on the dirt track, the Saudi Cup drew a field of 14 including a featured American-trained match-up between Grade 1 winners Knicks Go and Charlatan.
Knicks Go, winner of the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and Pegasus World Cup in his last two outings, drew post five for trainer Brad Cox. The Korea Racing Authority-owned colt will be ridden by Joel Rosario.
“We like it, it's right in the middle,” said Dustin Dugas, assistant trainer. “He's a speed horse, it's a long way till they get to the turn, Joel (Rosario, jockey) will have a lot of ground to work at before he gets to the turn.”
Charlatan, last-out winner of the G1 Malibu over seven furlongs, draw further to the outside in post nine for trainer Bob Baffert. He will be piloted by jockey Mike Smith.
“I spoke to Bob (Baffert, trainer) earlier and he said anything, six, seven, eight or nine would be perfect,” said assistant Jimmy Barnes. “The one turn mile and an eighth would just be perfect.”
Three other American interests in the race include: Max Player (Post 4, Steve Asmussen), Tacitus (Post 7, Bill Mott), and Sleepy Eyes Todd (Post 8, Miguel Angel Silva).
The full field is as follows:
- Chuwa Wizard
- Bangkok
- Great Scot
- Max Player
- Knicks Go
- Global Giant
- Tacitus
- Sleepy Eyes Todd
- Charlatan
- Military Law
- Simsir
- Mishriff
- Derevo
- Extra Elusive
Comments from other entrants' connections:
Bangkok (IRE) – (Drawn 2) – Anna Lisa Balding, assistant trainer: “It will be difficult but we'll do as well as we can.”
Chuwa Wizard (JPN) – (1) – Keita Tosaki, jockey: “He is a versatile horse and can run from any position. So the inside draw may help us.”
Derevo (GB) – (13) – See Great Scot
Extra Elusive (GB) – (14) – Roger Charlton, trainer: “I'm happy with the draw for Extra Elusive in stall 14. He hasn't run on the dirt before, and he's probably a horse who doesn't like to be crowded that much, so I think that gives him and Hollie (Doyle, jockey) a good shot down the outside. I'd certainly prefer stall 14 to stalls one or two or three, so so far we're happy and we're going to give it our best shot on Saturday.”
Global Giant (GB) – (6) – Isa Salman Al Khalifa of owner Al Adiyat Racing: “It definitely would be amazing. He has been improving with every start but he would have to run the race of his life to be competitive. It is an honor to be involved. The two winners for Bahrain at last year's Saudi Cup was the highlight of my racing life so far.”
Great Scot (GB) – (3) – Abdullah Mushrif, trainer: “Very happy. More happy with Great Scot from 13. It will be hard for Derevo but inshallah we will win, it's my dream.”
Max Player (USA) – (4) – Steve Asmussen, trainer: “Would have preferred the outside.”
Military Law (GB) – (10) – Musabbeh Al Mheiri, trainer: “Not too bad. In three, four or five would be good, but 10 is not bad. He can't go too fast anyway (early). When you have luck, God gives it to you.”
Mishriff (IRE) – (12) – Thady Gosden, assistant trainer: “We were hoping for a fairly wide draw. The American horses have far more gate speed than ours, so we're very happy with that.”
Simsir (IRE) – (11) – Fawzi Nass, trainer: “It's post 11. It's OK. I'll let Adrie (de Vries, jockey) deal with it.”
Sleepy Eyes Todd (USA) – (8) – Miguel Angel Silva, trainer: “I wanted to be more outside, but it's great. It's not perfect but it's great. We are next to Charlatan, so that is good. We are very excited. We didn't want to be inside so this is good, we are more to the outside.”
Tacitus (USA) – (7) – Neil Poznansky, assistant trainer: “He has Johnny V (Velazquez) on him and the whole backside to work a trip on him.”
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Saudi Cup Notes: Charlatan Should Move Forward From Malibu, Sleepy Eyes Todd ‘Fit And Good’
The following notes about contenders in the $20 million Saudi Cup, scheduled for Feb. 20, were provided by the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia.
Bangkok (IRE) – Andrew Balding's challenger took a first look at the dirt track on Wednesday with some gentle exercise.
Balding's wife and assistant Anna Lisa said: “He didn't do anything really smart today, the plan is that he will do something a bit quicker on Thursday. He went round the dirt and he seemed to enjoy it, he will wear special plates on Saturday, it should not be an excuse.”
Anna Lisa Balding said it would be a significant moment for Bangkok to be carrying the King Power Racing silks of the late Vichai Srivaddhanaprabh.
“The chairman of King Power said he wanted to race on the world stage, and this is a race you want to be in,” she said. “There are horses in the race that are better than him, it would be great to see him just up and close to them on Saturday.”
Charlatan (USA) – The Bob Baffert-trained son of Speightstown remained in the quarantine area on Wednesday, jogging an easy 1600m (one mile) over the training track.
“We stayed back (in the quarantine area) on the training track this morning,” assistant trainer Jimmy Barnes said. “It's our normal routine, we had our breeze day (Monday), walk day (Tuesday) and with the training track being right there we just stayed there. He jogged a mile. Twice around; it's a half-mile track.”
One of the top international contenders for Saturday's race, Charlatan has been here for a week and has settled nicely into his regular routine, according to Barnes.
“He's a very good traveler. That hasn't been any kind of a factor. The weather has been pleasant. It hasn't been hot so that always makes the trip easier. (We've) been here over a week and ready to get it on.
“The rest of the week we will go back to our regular galloping up to a race. We'll gallop a mile and a half tomorrow. We will stay on the main track Thursday and Friday. Not sure what we're doing on race day but I'll talk it over with Bob and see what he wants to do.”
Making only his second start since last May, the 4-year-old colt comes into Saturday's affair off an impressive win in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita Park
“Bob is really good off the layoff,” Barnes said. “Our horses are usually fit and ready. We look forward to him moving forward off that race – absolutely.”
Chuwa Wizard (JPN) – With handler Ryui Okubo supervising, the 6-year-old horse had a final piece of fast work over 1200m (six furlongs) on the dirt track under Keita Tosaki.
“I was asked to start galloping him with 1200m to go and drove him a bit strongly towards the end of the stretch,” said Tosaki.
“He was moving nicely and felt really good, responding to me so well. I understand that the American horses are very fast, so I want to make a plan depending on how the tempo in the race will be.
“I think the surface here is quite different from a Japanese dirt track. The dirt itself is smoother than Japan, I think Chuwa Wizard will suit the surface.”
Okubo added: “He moved beautifully this morning. I told the jockey to start cantering slowly from the 1200m pole and then pick up gradually before driving him strongly for the last stage of the stretch. I think he is in really good form. There will be some horses who are going fast in the field, so between middle and outside draw will be preferred.”
Extra Elusive (GB) – The 6-year-old Mastercraftsman gelding had a breeze on the dirt track.
“We are very happy with him,” said Andre Alencar, travelling head lad to Extra Elusive's trainer Roger Charlton. “We took him to the dirt track today and had a little breeze up, a little blow. He feels very good and happy – we can't ask for more. He's doing everything we ask him to.
“He's very relaxed; probably the change of scene has made him more relaxed than usual, and he's coping very well and he's on the right path. He won't go back out on to the main dirt track again now, he'll just stay on the training track.”
Knicks Go (USA) – Brad Cox-trained Knicks Go came out briefly to the dirt track and a one-lap jog in the wrong/clockwise direction along the outside of the track under assistant trainer Dustin Dugas. Owned by Korea Racing Authority, he enters with four consecutive one-sided victories, two in allowance company (at Oaklawn Park and Keeneland), the Grade 2 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and Pegasus World Cup. He will have a five-week gap from the Pegasus to Saturday.
“He's had two good works since the race and seems to be moving well,” Cox said. “He's continued since the Pegasus to show us what he showed us prior to the Pegasus and prior to the Breeders' Cup. This race is back a little quick, but one thing that gives us confidence is that he won the Pegasus without Lasix and this race is without Lasix, too. Another thing is this is five weeks from the Pegasus and it was five weeks between his allowance win where he broke the track record at Keeneland and the Breeders' Cup.
“He had a little bit of a freshening of a couple easy weeks after the Breeders' Cup and before the Pegasus, so this is sort of a second race off a layoff for him. Hopefully, after the race, he gives us confidence that he can travel internationally and compete.”
Cox is planning ahead with the 5-year-old grey.
“Right now we're treating him as if this is his time to shine,” Cox continued. “If he's able to do well in the Saudi Cup and then do well in Dubai, that would be very special. If he were able to win the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, Pegasus, Saudi Cup and Dubai, it would be very similar to what Arrogate did with the Travers, the (Breeders' Cup) Classic, Pegasus and Dubai. If he were able to do something like that, it would go down as one of the great streaks in racing history.
“We would try to get through these two and then ship him back to the States and work our way back from the Breeders' Cup after this. Whether that's the Dirt Mile or the Classic, his runs in Saudi Arabia and Dubai will tell us which one, so it's one race at a time.”
Max Player (USA) – The Steve Asmussen-trained son of Honor Code remained in the quarantine area.
Military Law (GB) – Nasir Askar's Musabbeh Al Mheiri-trained Military Law hand-walked on Wednesday after arriving late on Tuesday evening from Dubai. The gelded 6-year-old son of Dubawi exits an impressive victory in the Group 2 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 1 over 1600m (one mile) at Meydan.
“He just hand-walked today and shipped over well,” said Maria Ritchie, assistant trainer.
“We're looking forward to the race with him and we know he can see the distance. There will be pace, which is good. He was fresh last time, so he did well over the mile, but he obviously travels 2000m (1 1/4 miles).
“He was good that day and he has come forward, I think. Hopefully he won't be too far back off the pace. It's hard to come from too far back. We'll gallop him (a blowout breeze) down the stretch on Friday.”
Mishriff (IRE) and Global Giant (GB) – Cantered on the dirt track with Al Rajhi Bank Saudi Derby entry New Treasure. Mishriff was ridden by jockey David Egan and Global Giant by John Gosden's travelling head lad Tony Proctor.
“All three horses had an easy canter today and they are all handling the surface well,” said Gosden's son and assistant, Thady. “They seem to be enjoying themselves. Mishriff was very relaxed around there.”
Simsir (IRE) – Fawzi Nass was on hand to watch Bahrain International Trophy winner Simsir get over the dirt track on Wednesday morning. The trainer and co-owner (through the Bahrain-based Victorious racing stable) was pleased with his easy canter around the oval.
Nass said: “He did his big work in Bahrain on Sunday. All he and my other horses need to do is just 'tick over' and today they cantered about six and a half furlongs. It's their first time on the big track and one or two of them were a bit fresh, which is understandable on a new track, but hopefully they'll be more settled tomorrow. Simsir is doing very well.”
Sleepy Eyes Todd (USA) – The Miguel Angel Silva trained Sleepy Eyes Todd came onto the dirt track on Wednesday morning where he stood for about 10 minutes before warming up.
Miguel Angel Silva explained: “He always does that. He comes onto the track and first has a look. He then galloped for two rounds. He went a bit faster the second time round. He is fit and good.”
Tacitus (USA) – The 5-year-old son of Tapit came out of Tuesday's 600m (three furlongs) workout over the dirt track “super” according to Neil Poznansky, assistant to trainer Bill Mott and who was aboard Tacitus for Tuesday's drill.
“He jogged a mile on the training track (this morning),” added Poznansky, who was again in the saddle this morning.
Tacitus, who finished fifth in last year's inaugural edition of the Saudi Cup, has been racing well in the United States since that effort and last ran in the G1 Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland finishing fourth.
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